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DESCRIPTION
SwitchResX is a tool designed to manage resolutions of all your monitors. Here's a quick summary:
  • As standard features: it gives you access to most of your monitor settings within its customizable menus (in the Menu Bar or with a Contextual Menu Plugin [currently not working on Snow Leopard] on the Finder Desktop). SwitchResX incorporates features relative to the Monitor Resolution, Color Depth, Video Mirroring, Display Rotation, Display Overscan into one single utility.
  • Other useful features include saving desktop layout, ie positions of the icons on the desktop and positions of the windows of all open applications, and restore them automatically when the resolution is changed or when you plug or unplug an external monitor.
  • You can disable or deactivate a monitor without having to physically unplug it, allowing you to use a laptop in clamshell mode with external monitor, keyboard and mouse
  • Specialized features allow you to link your monitor settings with system events: Key shortcut pressed, Apple Scripts, Application launched.
  • Advanced features lets you create and enable new resolutions for your monitor, HDTV, Plasma or LCD screen or Video Projector. This advanced feature is very powerful for users requesting complete control over their display resolution.
WHAT'S NEW
Version 4.0.1:

It is designed for Leopard and above, and is a complete rewrite (Cocoa, 64-bit ready for Snow Leopard, including Menu Extra, but not including Contextual Menu dur to deprecation of CM plugins). This is a beta software (version 4.0.1), which basically means it should work as expected, but is likely to crash at any time. You are warned... If you download this, please report any bug (crash reports welcome) to stephane@madrau.com.

REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.6 or later.

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SCREENSHOT

Developer:Stephane Madrau
Downloads:36,587
  - Version d/l:932
Utilities:System
License:Shareware
Date:10 Oct 2009
Platform:PPC/Intel
Price:$19.00
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SwitchResX User Reviews (30 posts)Write A Review
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Sep 5 2009

CHIEFTED  Have been using this for a couple of weeks and haven't had an issue with it. Even the beta 4.0 version for Snow Leopard works well.

I didn't install APE though since it is only used to block some

resolutions.

Without APE it works just fine.

Yes wouldn't install APE if you paid me and as a former Mac

Genius if APE is install that is the first thing a Genius

will have you uninstall if something goes wrong.  
(Version 3.8.7)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
Mar 4 2009

XENOPHILE  This might actually be useful if it could store "sets" containing both resolution settings and colorsync profiles.

For now I'll just keep using Apple's menu item to switch resolutions. Nice try, though.  
(Version 3.8.6)

praisebury
+1
[ Reply ]
Mar 4 2009

VERYVITO  How does this offer anything different from the "Show displays in Menu bar" setting already in the Displays Preference panel?  
(Version 3.8.6)

praisebury
0
[ 1 Reply - Reply ]
Replies:
Jun 2 2009

D9  It allows you to customize display settings for resolutions that Mac OS X does not support natively. As the description alludes to, a good example is 1920 x 1080 HDTV. The standard OS X solution is either to reduce your overall screen coverage or use its Overscan setting which unfortunately causes the menu bar and anything else around the screen edges to go out of view.

Plus it allows for creating display sets so you can switch with a single click or even keystroke; helpful for notebook users who go from laptop screen to desktop monitor to presentation projectors.

/  
(Version 3.8.7)

praisebury
0

Jan 5 2009

XENOPHILE  APE is a system hack that is unsupported by Apple, meaning that it mucks with system-level internals in ways that Apple does condone, and more importantly, ways that Apple has not rigorously tested.

To be fair, there is some controversy among geeks who know vastly more than I about OS X as to whether APE destabilizes OSX. So when you're up against a deadline, or you've labored for hours on a complex project since last backing it up, if it gives you a nice warm fuzzy feeling to contemplate a few OS X gurus arguing whether APE destabilizes your system or not, then go ahead and use APE. Me? I don't trust APE any further than I could throw a real ape.  
(Version 3.8.5)

praisebury
+2
[ Reply ]
May 1 2008

REVCO  Huh? What wrong with APE? Me APEd for many years with no problem. Don't point finger at APE. APE good not bad.  
(Version 3.8.2)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
Apr 30 2008

XENOPHILE  Avoid.

Unsanity APE is an unsupported hack that accesses Mac OS X processes that Apple has delcared off limits. All too often, I've identified APE as a cause of system instability or application weirdness when troubleshooting Macs. Any potential user of APE needs to ask themselves if they really need the functionality it enables, and if so, can they afford extra system down time as the price for this functionality?   
(Version 3.8.2)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
Dec 30 2007
*....

MACINSPORE  This software is downright dangerous and insane. Based on my testing you have a very high likelihood of getting an "out of range" error and the loss of your display. Recovery from this problem is NOT simple.

1st Reboot you Mac and hold down the command, option, p and r keys. If your lucky this will fix things (it did not for me)

2nd find another monitor, plug it in and reboot. This fixed things things on a G3 running Jaguar.

3rd hold down the option and S keys while rebooting your Mac and delete the "com.apple.windowserver.XXXXX.plist" exist file in your own /Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/ByHost folder. Time to test your knowledge of UNIX and the "rm" command

But if this does not do the trick for you perhaps you could buy a new Mac or pay the Author, he claims he will try to help :-)

I tried this software on 3 Macs and got the same error: two Intel Macs (Tiger and Leopard) and a G3 tower (Jaguar) (1 Compaq Monitor, 1 HP Monitor 1 Apple Studio Display)

And yes I love too test software for the Mac, been doing so for over ten years. This software made me work hard to recover the display in each case.

the Author seems to be a good fellow and has been around the Mac OS for years (probably longer than I have and thats a long time) - but frankly this software is not ready for prime time on the Mac OS X  
(Version 3.8)

praisebury
-1
[ Reply ]
Dec 22 2007

SMTIPS  Oh MAN!! I was just about to get this because for some stupid reason I can only get a 60Hz refresh rate through the Displays panel when my monitor supports 75Hz. I think it's stupid that a mac with a 256 Nvidia card will only show a single refresh rate available when the monitor will support higher. It's ALWAYS been a problem with Macs way back since System 7 that the res/refresh rates that COULD be supported weren't selectable in the system...DUHHHH on you apple!!

Anyway....Unsanity APE has been known to cause FAR FAR too many issues. I refuse to use it, and you just lost my money...I was all ready to buy this til I saw the below comment...forget that APE CRAP.  
(Version 3.7.11)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
Oct 27 2007

JAMESKITTY  Requires Unsanity's APE hack. I won't install it.

Too bad the author can't find a way of programming this within Apple's rules.  
(Version 3.7.10)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
Mar 22 2006
****½

APPLECRYPT MODS  i wish the interface was better, but you had my reg money a while back and now it even works on intel mac!! Xcellent!  
(Version 3.7.2)

praisebury
0
[ Reply ]
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